Davis' buzzer-beater boosts SMCC to win over Jackets

SANDUSKY — St. Mary Central Catholic needed a momentum boost. The Panthers got it at the end of the first half. Clinging to seven-point lead against New Riegel, SMCC inbounded the ball with 4.7 seconds to play in the second quarter and the length of the court to go. Blake Finneran let the basketball roll for a few feet, picked it up and took two quick dribbles. He flipped the ball to Jack Davis, who took a dribble to the right and let it fly. Swish at the buzzer. That 3-pointer gave the Panthers a 10-point halftime lead and they defeated the Blue Jackets 70-54 on Tuesday in Sandusky Bay Conference River Division action at the Kinzel Center. "I think their senior experience showed," SMCC coach Kyle Hammond said. "Blake got downhill and he found Jack for an open 3. That was a big momentum swing before the end of the half." Davis, an exchange student from Australia, didn't panic and the clock melted away. "I was just fortunate that Blake found me on that," Davis said. "I felt two guys close to me so I dribbled to the right, shot it and hoped for the best. It felt perfect. It was a big momentum boost going into the locker room. The boys were all excited. It was good." Finneran wasted no time in getting the ball up the court. "I let it roll a little bit and ran it down the court and gave it right to him," Finneran said. "You gotta be calm in those kind of moments or you turn the ball over. "They had momentum in the second quarter and we had to get it back. I trusted him and told him to shoot it. I knew it was going in." The play showcased an edge in quickness that SMCC enjoyed in the game while improving to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the SBC River Division. The Panthers got outrebounded by the bulkier Blue Jackets, but committed only four turnovers in the first three quarters to 15 for New Riegel (4-6, 2-4). "I thought we did a great job moving the ball and taking care of it," Hammond said. "We talk about all the time about those extra possessions when we have offensive rebounds and steals and if we're efficient on offense we'd be tough to beat." Junior guard Cayden Wikel led SMCC with 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He sat out the fourth quarter after the Panthers built a 17-point cushion. Wikel had eight points in the third, including a jump shot with 30 seconds on the clock to give SMCC a 56-39 lead. "Cayden really carries us sometimes," Hammond said. "He makes some tough shots and is an exceptionally tough kid." Sturdy 6-foot-3 senior Gabe Burch contributed 13 points and eight valuable rebounds while doing battle with NR's 6-4 posts Owen Kummerer and Aiden Faeth. Kummerer led all scorers with 23 points, but Burch made him work. "That's probably the biggest kid I've played so far," Burch said. "He's a good player; I'll give him every bit of credit he deserves. But it's really nice just getting in the weight room all three sports really helps put in those physical minutes." Burch, who was 1 for 4 from 3-point range in the Panthers' first eight games, was 2 for 4 from long range Tuesday. "I caught some flak in practice for not shooting it, so I figured no better time to start than right now," he said. Jackson Grimm, SMCC's other big, added four points and three rebounds in a frenetic fourth quarter. Leo Will finished with nine points on three of the Panthers' nine made 3s. SMCC grabbed a quick 8-0 lead on 3s from Burch and Wikel and a baseline jumper from Burch. NR had three turnovers on its first three possessions. The Jackets got within 20-18 midway through the second quarter on Alec Hohman's layup, but the Panthers never trailed. SMCC extended its 10-point halftime lead with a 23-point third quarter. Elijah Conway's 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter gave the Panthers a 59-39 lead. SMCC plays three of its next four games on the road, including a Friday trip to Woodmore. "I'm really proud of the way we came out on a Tuesday and defended and played well on offense," Hammond said. "It was another great team victory." NEW RIEGEL (4-6, 2-4) Alec Hohman 2 0-0 5, Aiden Faeth 2 0-2 5, Cameron Hohman 2 4-6 8, Brayden Schalk 0 0-0 0, Owen Kummerer 10 3-8 23, Quinn Allison 4 0-0 10, Miles Allison 1 0-0 2, Levi Bumb 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 21 8-18 54 SMCC (9-0, 6-0) Jack Davis 2 0-2 6, Cayden Wikel 9 1-2 20, Blake Finneran 1 1-2 3, Leo Will 3 0-0 9, Gabe Burch 4 3-4 13, Jackson Grimm 2 0-0 4, Bryan Gibson 1 0-0 2, Cullen Dillard 0 4-6 4, Elijah Conway 1 2-2 5, Trace Smith 0 3-4 3. TOTALS 23 14-26 70 New Riegel 12 11 16 15 — 54 SMCC 13 20 23 14 — 70 Three-point goals: New Riegel 4 (Q. Allison 2, A. Hohman, Faeth); SMCC 9 (Will 3, Davis 2, Burch 2, Wikel, Conway)